Derrick Mason

Derrick Mason

Mason with the Ravens in 2010
No. 82, 85
Position:	Wide receiver
Personal information
Date of birth:	(1974-01-17) January 17, 1974 (age 43)
Place of birth:	Detroit, Michigan
Height:	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:	197 lb (89 kg)
Career information
High school:	Detroit (MI) Mumford
College:	Michigan State
NFL Draft:	1997 / Round: 4 / Pick: 98
Career history
Tennessee Oilers / Titans (1997–2004) Baltimore Ravens (2005–2010) New York Jets (2011) Houston Texans (2011)
Career highlights and awards
2× Pro Bowl (2000, 2003) First-team All-Pro (2000)
Career NFL statistics
Receptions: 943 Receiving yards: 12,061 Receiving touchdowns: 66 Return yards: 5,086 Return touchdowns: 3 Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Derrick James Mason (born January 17, 1974) is a former American football wide receiver who played for fifteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Tennessee Oilers in the fourth round of the 1997 NFL Draft after playing college football for the Michigan State Spartans. Following eight seasons with the Oilers (later called the Titans), including two Pro Bowl selections (2000 and 2003), Mason signed with the Baltimore Ravens in 2005. He became the Ravens' all-time leading receiver with 5,777 yards from 2005 to 2010, but he was released before the 2011 season. He spent 2011 with the New York Jets and Houston Texans. Mason retired a Baltimore Raven on June 11, 2012.

Mason attended Mumford High School in Detroit, Michigan. He set a school record for both catches (70) and receiving yards (1,243).

Mason played college football at Michigan State. During his four-year career, he set a team record for kick off return yards of 2,384. He also caught eight touchdowns.

He played under Nick Saban in 1995 and 1996 where he would catch 106 passes for 1,652 yards and 6 TD. He also played alongside Muhsin Muhammad in 1995.

Mason started his career with the Oilers/Titans after being drafted in the fourth round (98th overall) in the 1997 NFL Draft. In his rookie season, he played in 16 games recording 14 catches for 186 yards. He made his NFL debut versus the Oakland Raiders on August 31. The following season, he again played in all 16 games and this time recording 25 catches for 333 yards and three touchdowns, the first of his career came versus the Chicago Bears on October 25. He also returned 31 punts for 228 yards. In the 1999 season, Mason gained 1,030 yards returning punts and kickoffs, and added 8 kickoff returns for 322 yards and a touchdown in the team's three playoff games, assisting the Titans to Super Bowl XXXIV where he returned 5 kickoffs for 122 yards and caught 2 passes for 18 yards in Tennessee's 23–16 loss. He also returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown in the Titans 33-14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC title game. In the 2000 season, he led the NFL in punt return yards (662) while also catching 63 passes for 895 yards and returning 41 kickoffs for 1,132 yards (an NFL leading 27 yards per return average), giving him 2,690 combined receiving and special teams yards, breaking the NFL record for all-purpose yards in a single season previously held by Lionel James (2,535).Darren Sproles broke Mason's record in 2011 with 2,696 yards. He is only the second player in Titans history to pass the 2,000 yard mark. He earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl. In 2001, he started 15 games and scored 9 touchdowns, a career high. Just as he had done the previous season, he went past the 2,000 all purpose yards mark, the first Titan to do this in consecutive seasons. The following season, he started in 14 games and led the team in a number of categories including receptions, reception yards and touchdowns. In 2003, he started all 15 games and finished the season with 1,303 receiving yards and 95 receptions which was the 5th highest in the NFL. The following season, in 2004, he again started all 16 games and was ranked 2nd in the NFL with 96 receptions for 1,168 yards and seven touchdowns.